Raiders lose to Bears igniting QB issue

Heading into Friday’s 3rd preseason game against the Chicago Bears, The Oakland Raiders seemed pretty well set on Matt Flynn as the starting QB. After the 26-34 loss however, it seems that the Raiders may have started a dreaded “QB controversy.” Coach Allen said after Friday night’s game that he “needs to look at the club’s quarterback situation.” Flynn struggled to move the ball for the Raiders, throwing 2 interceptions in 6 attempts and putting Oakland down 27-0 by the late 2nd quarter. Enter Terrelle Pryor, who got the crowd pumped by leading a late field-goal drive in the first half and then running and throwing for scores in the third quarter. Pryor finished 7 for 9 for 93 yards passing to go along with 37 yards rushing and led Oakland to 20 points on five drives.

“I think obviously we have to look at it. I think when you look at it I don’t think Matt (Flynn) played well in this game,” Allen said. “Obviously, I thought Terrelle came in and gave us a spark. I thought he played well in the game. I think that’s something that we have to go and look at it.” Coach Allen continued to say that “What I want to look at is who gives us the best chance to move the ball down the field and score points, obviously I’m not going to look at one night and base any type of decision on one night. I’ll go back and I’ll look at it and we’ll see where we go from here.”

On Saturday following the loss, Allen went on to that Pryor would take more practice snaps with the first-time offense this coming week and that he would decide on a starter before the Raiders’ opener on Sept. 8 against the Colts. Last year, Flynn was the expected started in Seattle, but lost the job to rookie Russell Wilson and was aquired from the Seahawks for draft picks in April. It is quite possible that Flynn could again lose the starting position by his poor play.

With not much to lose this season, I believe that Coach Allen should give Pryor the ball and see what the kid can do. He had an outstanding career at Ohio State and I think he should be given the chance to lead Oakland this year. He seems to command the field better than Flynn and can give Oakland the spark that the offense desperately needs. What do YOU think??